New Phoenix Coyotes assistant John Anderson expects smooth transition

Assistant says he will mesh well with rest of staff

by Jim Gintonio - Jul. 28, 2011 08:36 PMThe Arizona Republic

As a former head coach in the NHL, John Anderson is used to making the final decisions. He will not be in that position with the Coyotes, but he expects a seamless transition as an assistant to Dave Tippett, a former teammate in Hartford.

Anderson, who won multiple titles in the AHL and coached in Atlanta from 2008-10, also was a teammate of General Manager Don Maloney with Hartford.

He joins a staff that includes Jim Playfair, another former NHL head coach.

"I think Tip and I have a pretty open relationship," Anderson said. "I'll just tell him how I feel, and it's up to Dave to make decisions on how and what we do on the ice.

"My job, I believe, and Jim Playfair's job, is to help give some advice, some solutions to problems we have, and it's up to Dave how we go about fixing it them. I've loved what Dave's done in his coaching career, and hopefully I can help him a little bit and hopefully learn off him. You stop coaching if you stop learning."

The situation of three former head coaches on a staff is rare, and Tippett said he likes it from both the experience angle and that each of them will have his own niche. Anderson, a crafty goal-scorer during his career, will be working with the forwards, and Playfair's area of expertise is defense.

"You mesh those two attitudes together, and you got some defense, you got some offense," he said. "Both are very good coaches but also very quality people, too, that our players will respect. I like the way the coaching staff has come together this year."

Anderson said there will no tunnel vision when it comes to working with Playfair.

"Certainly if Jim had something to say about the forwards, I would certainly welcome his advice," he said. "We're all I this I "We're all in this together. We have to have an openness, and I think just in general getting this team in the right direction and having them the best well-prepared as we possibly can."

Maloney said he likes experience and that both Anderson and Playfair offer different skill sets.

"We really like that (Playfair) has had head coaching experience, and understands what it takes to be the guy in charge, yet he knows the role, the defensive role.

"John has had the experience of running his own team, running his own bench, brings a different mind-set or viewpoint to the game . . . He really sees the game from an offensive standpoint, so I really like the contrast."

Anderson said he was surprised at how much management and coaches got out of the players the past two seasons in the midst of a "very tough situation"

"That's why I'm excited to be a part of it," he said. "I want to learn some of the magic."

K. Gretzky exits

Rick Knickle has replaced Keith Gretzky as the director of amateur scouting, one of several departmental changes announced Thursday.

Gretzky will accept a position with an Eastern Conference team, according to an NHL source.

Knickle was a scout for Nashville since the team's inaugural 1998-99 season. He is a former goalie who played 18 seasons in the AHL and IHL and 14 games with Los Angeles spanning the 1992-94 seasons.